


A Broken Heel

by TheUltimateUndesirable



Series: Paneville Plunnies [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Pansy Parkinson, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Good Pansy Parkinson, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Nightmares, POV Pansy Parkinson, Past Hannah Abbott/Neville Longbottom, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:55:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27488437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUltimateUndesirable/pseuds/TheUltimateUndesirable
Summary: The memory of a broken heel, and how much good can go to bad. Sometimes you just need that person to listen to feel better.
Relationships: Neville Longbottom/Pansy Parkinson
Series: Paneville Plunnies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2008759
Comments: 11
Kudos: 5
Collections: Paneville





	A Broken Heel

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to wrap my head around drabbles further, and accepting these are all basically going to be plunnies. -shrug- Writing scenes as they come to me while feeling dark! Also may be satisfying my distaste for canon on a deep level and those of similar mindsets along with it lmao 
> 
> Whether it truly counts as E or not is another story. I know two categories. E and T lmao probably going to have a very E rated multi chapter spun out of this prompt.....because I'm like that. 
> 
> Prompt: Broken Heel

Pansy smoothed her hand over Neville’s forehead. It was still a bit sweaty, and clammy. There were nights those days still came back to haunt him unfortunately. Nothing was able to stop them, although dreamless sleep had ended up helping him a lot. He preferred not to use it unless he was feeling particularly emotional though. 

Even being together for only a few months at least she was able to bring him more comfort than she was sure he had felt in years. More than she herself had even thought she had left in her to give. The Gryffindor had grown to allow her to help that much, but since that first episode together she had never tried to pry him open.

Post traumatic stress syndrome is what they had called it. From what the mind healers said it was understandable given what all he had gone through. Eventually though if they were going to make progress in their relationship like he kept indicating, he was going to have to open up a little more. Let her help him more. 

There was nothing left for her to offer up as an effort to be relatable from her own horrors. Those had all been spilled in the very beginning in an attempt to reassure and comfort him. Get him to trust her. 

“Love,” Pansy started off softly. The mind healers had said it was okay to ask, but accept whatever the answer was and don’t push. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked hopefully. 

Then again Pansy wasn’t sure she really wanted to know based on what all she already knew. On the other hand she knew how important it was to talk about some things with others. It had taken her a long time to learn that. Easier said than done by far of course. 

Neville just continued to stare up at the ceiling from where he lay on the floor. His head on her lap like he liked. The unfocused gaze he held told her he was thinking. Probably far too much about things he didn’t need to. 

“A broken heel,” he finally said pretty numbly.. 

Pansy furrowed her brows. “Come again?” 

“A broken heel,” Neville repeated. “That’s how it began.” 

Starting to lace her fingers through her hair more slowly she thought about how to approach the subject. Sometimes he talked, and explained things that happened, but usually about things that she was already aware of. This was new, and something they had never discussed. 

“How what began?” she asked gently despite having a feeling where the subject was going. For a moment there was silence, but as expected he answered. 

“Hannah,” he said quietly. 

Pansy didn’t ask further. Instead she chose to let him do what he will with the topic. It wasn’t one either of them, no one actually, took lightly. 

“It all started because of some stupid broken heel,” he actually managed to laugh softly. She figured it was probably due to the absurdity. 

“You know I did consider it?” Neville told her. “Granted it was for all of ten seconds, but I did consider walking past her. In the end though I couldn’t.”

“That’s because you’re a gentleman Nev,” Pansy reassured him. There was no doubt about it. He was the sweetest, and kindest person she had ever known. 

“Gran drilled that into me far too good didn’t she?” he asked rhetorically. 

“Nev…” she trailed off weakly. Once in the mindframe it was almost impossible to get him out of it, especially during nights like this. 

“If I’d just left her like that none of it would have happened. I wouldn’t have helped. She wouldn’t have put her hand on my shoulder as she bent down to take it off her foot….” Neville sighed deeply which she encouraged further by caressing the side of his head. 

“It was beautiful,” he continued. Not exactly dreamily, but lost in thought. “Sparkling bronze heels. It matched her golden satin dress perfectly. There couldn’t have been a better outfit to represent her house with.” 

“Is that what you dreamt about this time?” Pansy asked curiously. “The dance?” 

That was one thing she did know. He and Hannah had started dating shortly after the eighth year ball at Hogwarts. All previous seventh years returning to school after the war, McGonagall had taken extra care to encourage them to relax, and boost their mood. Considering they all had had to share a common room despite houses, at a further attempt towards house unity a dance had been her idea. Fun together while allowing the comfort of representing their houses once more instead of the royal purple they had to wear during school days. 

While most of the boys had worn standard black dress robes, with most of their ties just matching original house color there were some that had gone all out. Like Blaise in his emerald green suit, Finnegan in his black and white white pinstripe one with bright red waist coat…..then there had been Neville in his dark maroon suit. That neither stood out nor was dull. It was modest and incredibly representative.

Most of the females, herself included, had gone all out just like with the Yule Ball if not even more so due to age. Many wore skin tight dresses, strapless or exposed low backs. The latter of which she was guilty of with silver chains draped over it and the dark green soft matte fabric clinging to her. Hannah on the other hand had gone as modest as Neville had. Reserved and almost conservative in style. Pastel yellow, bronze heels, and a perfect example of Hufflepuff. Although it turned out she couldn’t have been further from it. 

“No,” Neville finally continued, probably even more lost in the detailed memory that was apparently bothering him. “It was that broken heel. The moment I thought I fell in love. Bending down to get it for her. It was stiff, and although it sparkled there was no texture to the bloody thing. It was smooth. I watched her repair it. Easy magic. The heel mending back together seamlessly. She had given it back to me, like it was natural. A secret feeling passed between us. Given the stupid heel back to me, and I bent down to slip it back on her foot. Together the shoes shined even more than before….” he trailed off. 

Pansy pressed her lips together knowing that wasn’t the end. While it would have been an unpleasant dream to wake up to it wouldn’t have resulted in the screams that had awoken them. A broken heel and first memory wouldn’t have sent him into an out right fit of fear again. 

“Then,” Neville started again. “….instead of giving it back to me. Before it even touched my hand, that first smile….” the Gryffindor took a deep breath, and she smoothed the palm of her hand over his cheek to encourage him. Reassure him which apparently it did since he continued. “....she broke the heel back off and stabbed me in the neck with it.”


End file.
